Which new movies will Deadpool’s success lead to?

This past weekend, the roaring success of Deadpool, opening at $135 million, proved that taking risks can pay off significantly. The release of a solo adaptation for the beloved mutant mercenary was once thought impossible. Although a definitive favorite among fans, Deadpool has never been considered a primary title, certainly not enough to ever be optioned for a film. It wasn’t until the release of X-Men Origins: Wolverine that we finally got the first live-action version of the character, albeit showcased in a bitterly disappointing endeavor for a Wolverine solo film. The movie featured the Merc with the Mouth with his actual mouth inexplicably fused shut, as well as a barrage of completely unrelated and unjustified powers, engendering a collective nerd rage like no other.

Agreeing Deadpool was not given the apropos introduction he deserved, actor and fan Ryan Reynolds, as well as the massive community support, managed to pull Deadpool from the wreckage of Origins and it was greenlit by 20^th Century Fox following the well-received CG test footage that mysteriously “leaked” online last year. With a new X-Men movie timeline to play around with, it would seem Deadpool has a pretty secure future, especially with a sequel already in the works.

Deadpool worked so well because we were finally given exactly what we asked for. It allowed everyone to see that it’s okay for a studio to travel outside its comfort zone and make a play for the unsung icons that aren’t necessarily the top tier intellectual properties getting continuously rehashed. With all this in mind, it’s possible that some of the more obscure comics often overlooked could prove themselves just as worthy as Deadpool, given their moment to shine.

The Runaways

One of Marvel’s lesser known titles, The Runaways follows a team of gifted teenagers as they fight against the family of cultist supervillains from which they escaped. This project has been an uphill battle out of obscurity, having been in development hell since the early 2000’s. With chatter about an adaptation floating around for years, it was revealed as recently as 2014 that Marvel Studios’ Kevin Feige thinks not only is a movie possible, but a television series is likely, not to mention the project being openly endorsed by Guardians of the Galaxy director, James Gunn. The Runaways is an unexpectedly charming story full of action, comedy, vampires, pet dinosaurs, and nothing we will have ever seen from a Marvel title. Considering Marvel Studios’ uncanny ability to scrape the bottom of the comic barrel and create a franchise overnight, it seems the risk to make this project official would be minimal, but the reward would be substantial.

Y: The Last Man

Taking place in a semi post-apocalyptic world, Vertigo Comics’ Y: The Last Man focuses on Yorick Brown, the sole survivor of a plague that has wiped out every single male mammal on the planet, with the exception of himself and his pet monkey, Ampersand. It was announced back in October that ideas were being drafted for an FX Networks series with comic writer Brian K. Vaughn expected to be a part of it. Nothing official, however, has been confirmed as to how close to production it is, which means it could easily fall into nothingness before it’s been given a chance. YTLM has a great sci-fi plot with a lot of heart and comedy, along with more than its fair share of darkness and grit. A film adaptation might be the best bet the project has if its life on the small screen is unjustly snuffed out.

Lobo

Lobo is a fan favorite DC character that readers have been clamoring to see in a big-budget movie. A film adaptation was announced to be helmed by Journey 2: The Mysterious Island director Brad Peyton, as well as the ballistic bounty-hunter portrayed by none other than Dwayne Johnson. As of late, the movie is officially scrapped, but thanks to the massive success of Deadpool, Warner Bros. might be more willing to invest in a less than mainstream title. Lobo would work best as a rated R action/comedy centered on a violent, fowl-mouthed, alien bounty hunter who has frequent run-ins with Superman and various other cosmic freaks and oddities as he tears through the universe on his intergalactic motorcycle! Lobo has been known to act as the comic relief in several stories, always saying what’s on his mind and always looking out for his own best interest. No other character fits in best with the current movie climate to match the popularity of the Merc with the Mouth than Lobo.

Savage Dragon

A cult favorite since its conception in the early 80’s, Savage Dragon is an action-packed story centered on a dragon-like alien stranded on earth. With no memories and an itch for violence, he uses his exceptional strength and durability to clean up the mean city streets as an officer of the Chicago police department. With the exception of a short-lived animated series in the 90’s, there’s never been a truly deserving adaptation of the Image Comics title, despite rumors of a completed screenplay by creator Erik Larsen. Best case scenario, Savage Dragon becomes at least a trilogy. There’s a reason it not called Savage Dragon PD. There are many continuing plots that occur throughout The Dragon’s life. Eventually, he encounters interdimensional travel, alien war, love, loss, death. The whole series has a substantially dense lore that could easily provide filmmakers plenty of real estate from which to craft an undeniably memorable story, encapsulating both his complex personal life, as well as his life as a hero…and sometimes villain.

Venom

Most would recognize Venom as Spider-Man’s vicious alien arch nemesis, but despite his origins as a supervillain, the character has taken some interesting turns throughout the last decade. Usually when a character introduced as a villain becomes increasingly more popular among fans, their story begins to evolve and grow, leading to an inevitable paradigm shift. This exact phenomenon is what got us a Deadpool movie in the first place. Even as Venom, Eddie Brock always had a moral code, never really seeking to harm or kill anyone, with the exception of Spider-Man. After surviving cancer, he adopts a more peaceful outlook. Feeling powerless to do anything about the violent world he sees more clearly, he again, through mysterious circumstances, succumbs to the alien symbiote that once made him a monster, using his new form as the “Anti-Venom” to thrash the criminal underbelly. Venom’s story shifts from a place of brutal vengeance to a tale of redemption, using his rage and power as a weapon against evil. A Venom movie would most likely emerge in the Marvel Cinematic Universe now that Spider-Man is set to be established in this summer’s Captain America: Civil War. The backdrop for his origin shouldn’t be too difficult to present, so long as the project openly avoids any association with a certain third installment that once killed the franchise.